Mr. Stein: Let me be the first to fire a shot across the bow of the Blue Jackets’ playoff
express. I am a first-day PSL owner, and trust me when I say the Blue Jackets will
not make the playoffs.

This team was assembled to compete in the Western Conference, where tight, low-scoring games are
the norm. We have no firepower to compete in games typical of the East, where the final score might
be 8-5.

Sure, there will be games when five to eight goals are scored, only they will be scored by the
likes of the Penguins, Flyers and Rangers. Our low-powered offense, well, maybe two or three.

So come January, when the fire sale begins, remember you heard it here first. Load your cannons
and fire away, Jackets fans, but I will be the last one standing come April.

— Eric A. Henne, Pataskala

Eric: Good gravy, brother, we’re still two weeks from the puck dropping for real and you’re
slinging mud. It doesn’t necessarily mean you’re wrong — the Penguins and Flyers, in particular,
have left a few permanent tattoos — but you could at least wait until they start 1-2.

Mr. Stein: I would like to help the long-suffering fans who happen to be divorced. You gave up
what was once the love of your life, but you are still a Browns fan. Think about that. Till death
do us part? If you can give up on marriage, give up on the Browns.

If most of you counted how many times your spouse hurt you it would not come close to the amount
of pain inflicted by the Browns.

Just as you found someone else, there are many other teams to choose from. Put all their names
in a hat and pull one out. Whoever it is, you will have a better chance of making a Super Bowl —
let alone winning one.

I saw a guy who looked like he was maybe 30, wearing a brown shirt with orange that said: “One
before I die.” I wonder if he was married.

— Gary Teets, Columbus

Gary: Why, you’re just a regular Dr. Phil for the football set. Do you proffer legal and/or
financial advice, as well, or are you strictly a marriage counselor?

I pity the rest of the team that has to suffer through more ineptitude. Management is rotting
the team more than I thought possible. I would love to see all the remaining players ask to be
traded.

This Mile High Browns Backer may have to switch allegiances. I’ve always been a Peyton Manning
fan. Why not cheer for the rest of the team?

— Steven Martens, Golden, Colo.

Steven: I find it incomprehensible that an avowed Browns fan could ever, even for as long as it
takes to blink, root for a team that wore that particular color of orange that ripped the hearts
out of so many on the North Coast — first with The Drive, then with The Fumble. That’s just
wrong.

Editor: Just what is going on with the
always starting over Browns? They have traded two of the most punishing backs in the NFL’s
recent memory, Peyton Hillis a couple of years ago and now Trent Richardson, whom they just drafted
a year ago.

Do the coaches and front-office gurus hold on to an idea long enough to see it come to
fruition?

— Jim O’Connor, Westerville

Jim: Browns fans certainly don’t need me rubbing their noses in it, but they know how bad it is
when the Bengals are a comparative paragon of stability and excellence.

Ray: Since football coaches are known to welcome helpful suggestions from fans, I’ll weigh in
with my own. Ohio State could create a devastating offense by switching Braxton Miller to running
back and putting him on the field with Kenny Guiton at quarterback.

Just think of the possibilities with two players on the field who can both run and pass. Miller
can be spelled at running back when necessary by Jordan Hall or could move over to quarterback if
Guiton is hurt. Miller’s performance could jump-start his fading Heisman hopes.

The next time Urban Meyer ambles across the Olentangy on his way to a staff meeting, he should
ponder the explosive possibilities of such a dramatic switch.

— Howard Byer, Gahanna

Howard: I was not aware that coaches were so agreeable to proposals, but I’m happy to pass on
your idea. My guess is that coaches of such caliber already have considered most every possibility
except one that places the kicker at offensive tackle. But we’ll see.

Ray: Although it doesn’t change the outcome, it was nice that the Pac-12 apologized for
mishandling the clock at the end of the Wisconsin-Arizona State game. I wonder if the Big Ten will
man up and apologize to Akron for the way their game at Michigan ended.

That game may have had a different outcome if the eight or nine seconds were put back on the
clock. Running two plays in 23 seconds instead of 15 is huge. While reviewing the play was the
correct action, it did give Michigan time to regroup. They shouldn’t have gotten help with the
clock, as well.

— Stan Karn, Worthington

Stan: That was an unlucky break for the Zips, but they also didn’t seem to manage the time well
when the officials restarted the clock. And that dreadful call for a sweep right? That was a lesson
in how not to finish an upset.